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Full-Text Articles in Law
Out Of Thin Air: Using First Amendment Public Forum Analysis To Redeem American Broadcasting Regulation, Anthony E. Varona
Out Of Thin Air: Using First Amendment Public Forum Analysis To Redeem American Broadcasting Regulation, Anthony E. Varona
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
American television and radio broadcasters are uniquely privileged among Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensees. Exalted as public trustees by the 1934 Communications Act, broadcasters pay virtually nothing for the use of their channels of public radiofrequency spectrum, unlike many other FCC licensees who have paid billions of dollars for similar digital spectrum. Congress envisioned a social contract of sorts between broadcast licensees and the communities they served. In exchange for their free licenses, broadcast stations were charged with providing a platform for a "free marketplace of ideas" that would cultivate a democratically engaged and enlightened citizenry through the broadcasting of …
Regulation Of Indecency In Political Broadcasting, Jonathan Golomb
Regulation Of Indecency In Political Broadcasting, Jonathan Golomb
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The article considers both the constitutional and statutory aspects of the regulation of indecency in political broadcasting. The discussion is limited to considering "indecency," a term excluding obscenity or incitement to violence, because the government's power to regulate these types of speech is well established. Indecent speech would be protected if used in the print media, since it does not fall within the established First Amendment exceptions. The basic constitutional question, therefore, is whether the broadcast media are inherently different from the print media, so as to justify different treatment of indecent political speech. This article will contend that they …
Political Broadcasting After The Aspen Ruling: Legislative Reform Of Section 315(A) Of The Communications Act Of 1934, Stuart N. Brotman
Political Broadcasting After The Aspen Ruling: Legislative Reform Of Section 315(A) Of The Communications Act Of 1934, Stuart N. Brotman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The FCC's new interpretation of section 315(a) in the Aspen ruling greatly reduced its inhibitory effect on broadcasters. The ruling, however, has created further interpretive problems regarding the broadcast debate format, and has not completely resolved the more general problem of giving the electorate greater and more direct exposure to candidates during campaigns through programming that forces candidates to confront each other on the major issues. This article will discuss the. background of section 315(a), then explain each of its exemptions. Finally, it will propose possible reforms in the area of political broadcasting in light of the Aspen ruling.